We invest in companies that have already established themselves in the market with their technology, product or service but need additional capital to accelerate growth and build on achievements to date. This means that we do not invest pre-revenue, and existing revenues must be on a commercial basis and not solely proof of concept or derived from legacy business that is to be phased out/discontinued. Typically, we expect repeatable annualised revenues of at least £500K but ideally over £1m.

Investment criteria

Each investment opportunity will be screened and researched by the Juno team, but must be approved by a quorum of the Juno Investment Committee which is made up of six members of the Syndicate. Approval by this committee will result in a cornerstone investment from them as a ‘signal’ to the other members. Typically, this is between £150K - £250K per investment.

More detailed criteria are listed below but here are a few further thoughts that will help determine whether an opportunity is more or less attractive to us:

• We are very excited by the opportunities presented by ecommerce but less interested in investing in retailers and more interested in the tools that can help retailers manage their businesses more effectively.

• We look for the potential of a company to be sold to a major global player (rather than IPO) and therefore it is important that we are able to understand how a company can be of strategic value to several global players with a track record of buying companies at high valuation multiples.

Management Team

Management should be experienced, driven and willing to work with investors over the life of the investment. Teams should be passionate and committed to the business for the long term and be suitably rewarded for success.

Market Size

The market should be large, growing, addressable and global. The company should have a credible plan to capture a meaningful share of this market.

Product / Technology

We prefer new products and technologies that can be highly disruptive rather than those offering incremental improvements.

We invest in platform technologies that are owned or licensed exclusively and that will have strategic value to an acquiring company. We do not look favourably on restricted use of a technology or product such as geographically limited license or distribution agreement.

There should be a clear product roadmap detailing how the technology is to be exploited through diverse revenue streams.

Financials

We are looking for well thought out revenue plans with conservative assumptions about the rate of revenue growth. Most businesses do not meet their revenue projections and so we will evaluate plans under the assumption of a revenue shortfall.

Valuations

The price paid for our investments should enable members to achieve a minimum return (see below). The valuation should take into account the additional capital required above the current investment and our expectation that any subsequent investment should be at a higher share price.

Customers

The product or service should have a clearly identifiable market and evidence that it is solving an unmet need. We are focused on companies that are generating revenues, ideally with a run rate approaching £1m or above.

Competition

We need to understand the competition, and what dynamics are driving market. There should be clarity over how the product or service is differentiated and how a competitive advantage will be maintained.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property should be appropriately protected and have a clear freedom to operate without infringing on others' patents or trademarks.

Financial Requirements

We do not invest in companies that have significant further funding requirements. There should be no more than two investment rounds (including the current) prior to the company becoming self-sufficient.

Use of Proceeds

Juno will provide capital to accelerate the achievement of commercial milestones; typically hiring key sales, marketing and business development executives.

Exit Strategy

Our members are seeking returns of at least five times their investment within five years. The business plan must be explicit about what milestones must be achieved for the company to be able to achieve this growth in value and the likely buyers of the company.